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From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Fences comes Joe Turner's Come and Gone--Winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. "The glow accompanying August Wilson's place in contemporary American theater is fixed."--Toni Morrison When Harold Loomis arrives at a black Pittsburgh boardinghouse after seven years' impressed labor on Joe Turner's chain gang, he is a free man--in body. But the scars of his enslavement and a sense of inescapable alienation oppress his spirit still, and the seemingly hospitable rooming house seethes with tension and distrust in the presence of this tormented stranger. Loomis is looking for the wife he left behind, believing that she can help him reclaim his old identity. But through his encounters with the other residents he begins to realize that what he really seeks is his rightful place in a new world--and it will take more than the skill of the local "People Finder" to discover it. This jazz-influenced drama is a moving narrative of African-American experience in the 20th century.… (more)
User reviews
During the play Harold goes into a spell and Bynum talks him out of it. Seth doesn't like Harold going into a spell and tells him he will have to move. Zonia gets to know Reuben, the boy next door, who kisses her and says she will be his wife. Jeremy picks up with one woman and then runs off with Molly Cunningham who is real slick.
The play takes place in Seth's kitchen or in the back yard. August Wilson is an excellent playwright. I don't say that lightly. I enjoyed spending time in the world of Seth, Bertha and the others. Seth and Bynum play dominoes while Bynum sings " Joe Turner's Come and Gone". Everybody eats a biscuit with grits and gravy for breakfast and fried chicken on Sunday. It's a friendly place.
Wilson's skill is in making the play an authentic portrayal of this experience. I felt that this play focused on the issue of personal power. It included several incidents that illustrated how racism deprived African Americans of power over their lives. To make sure you can't forget at the end we learn who Joe Turner is and get a real cruel example of white supremacy at work in the lives of some nice people who just happened to be African American. Read this play and then talk about the good old days.